Waste Your Pretty Face
by eerieamber
Summary: Numbuh 362 is no longer a KND operative. Now she's just Rachel McKenzie, a perpetually depressed teenager with anxiety, you know, as all teens are. But when she moves to a new town, suddenly a past she doesn't remember is coming back to haunt her. In between that and her broken family, she's not quite sure how she's going to make it through high school.
1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone! First fic on this account, not first fic on here tbh. Okay, here's the gist of it, when I was a kid I looked up to this girl. I thought she and numbuh 5 were the _awesomest_ people in the world. Anyway I wanted to do a fic exploring her life as a teenager and with the whole thing trying to get G:KND greenlit, well, I couldn't resist a fic. Especially since most of the fics on here are from _years_ ago. (Oh, before I forget, this is also being cross posted on ao3!)

Oh, just as well, the main pairings for this fic are Nigel/Rachel, Kuki/Wally, Hoagie/Abby as they were the ships I had before I knew what shipping was. But, be warned, this does not mean they're completely straight. This fic also includes trans!Fanny.

Title is from the song Gasoline by Halsey.

And I hope you enjoy :)

* * *

 _Chapter 1_

* * *

 _"Numbuh Five,_ Abby," _Rachel spoke her eyes wide as she tried to get one of Sector V, any of them, to answer her. "Where- where's Numbuh One?" she shifted. She had tried calling him earlier, to apologize on the behalf of her brother and herself for their actions, but hadn't been able to reach him. She let it go, though, it wasn't until she had a mission that she knew would be perfect for him did she try to contact him again._

 _"Numbuh Five's sorry, sir," Numbuh Five finally spoke. "We can't say."_

 _Rachel's stomach dropped._

* * *

Rachel wasn't exactly sure what encouraged her mother to move to a place like this, to be honest. They went from this large, grand mansion to this much more quaint home in a suburb. She wasn't complaining, in fact, she hoped this meant a change in her family. So, while she was extremely happy for the new start, her brother was most definitely not.

"Why did we have to move _here_?" Harvey was complaining and pushed around the eggs on his place. "We don't even have a pool anymore and _stupid_ Sector V is here!" he whined and twisted his body to look back at his sister. "But I bet you must love that. You always did play favorites with them!"

Rachel's eyebrows knit together for a moment as she plopped down next to him. "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about," she announced and rested her cheek in her palm. "Does this have to do with that game you play, with the numbers?" she gave him a little smile.

Harvey frowned and went back to poking at his food. "That's right. You were decommissioned. You wouldn't know what I was talking about."

 _"Rachel,"_ their mothers piercing voice caused both to flinch. "Are you really going to where _that_ on your first day of school?" she demanded, her hand on her hip as she took in her daughter's appearance.

Rachel looked down at herself. She was wearing a simple, long sleeved, gray shirt and a pair of blue jeans. There were no holes in her jeans and the neckline of her shirt wasn't super low, so she looked back up at her mother asked, "What's wrong with it?"

"There's no _color,_ " she sounded absolutely exasperated. "You should wear more color! You know, when you were a kid, one day you just randomly started wearing bright colors together, like orange and teal," she made her way toward the coffee pot. "I mean, they clashed so much and gave me headaches but you always told me that it was because you were the Supreme Leader of a bunch of your little friends or something," she waved her hand dismissively. "And that you needed to be able to stand out so you could be seen. I haven't a clue what made you switch back to dark colors."

Rachel hummed. She didn't remember that. In fact, she didn't even remember these friends her mother mentioned, after all, the only _friends_ she had as a kid were the ones her mother, quite literally, bought.

"Anyway, you really should go try and put on something brighter!"

"I don't think you're one to talk," Rachel muttered under breath. Granted, her mother's suit was for work, but even on her off days she didn't wear much color.

"Anyway, hurry up, both of you! I'll drive you to school today, I still need to give some of your paperwork over to the high school, to complete Rachel's transfer," she explained, pouring the rest of the coffee from the pot into a cylindrical container.

* * *

"See ya!" Harvey shouted and slammed the car door shut.

Rachel rolled her window, "Wait, Harvey!" he stopped and looked back. Rachel gave him a small, tentative smile. "Good luck on your first day!"

Harvey shifted, face flushing. "Yeah, yeah, don't get all sappy on me, Rach!"

Rachel chuckled. "I'm your big sister. It's my job to get all sappy on you!" she paused and added. "If you end up feeling uncomfortable- at all, just go to the nurse; see if she'll let you lie down for a few hours okay?"

Harvey nodded. "Yeah, of course!"

That was all that could be said as the car began pulling away. Rachel sighed, readjusted her seatbelt, and faced the front again.

"You know," her mother spoke. "I don't understand how he's not over his haphephobia yet."

Rachel heaved a sigh. "He's a kid. There's no way he's going to get over something like that so easily," she folded her arms over her chest and leaned her head against the window.

"Right…" she frowned. "Oh, so, you think you'll be able to make friends?" she asked, obviously trying to strike up a conversation to ease the tension in the air.

"Oh, you mean ones that you _don't_ buy for me?" Rachel quipped.

"Rache-"

"Oh look," Rachel quickly unbuckled her belt as they came to a stop. "We're here. So you can do whatever you need to, I already have my schedule. I think I'm going to look for my locker."

"Rachel!"

Rachel froze and looked back at her mother. She swallowed heavily, "Yes?"

"I love you."

Rachel let out a shuddery breath. "I love you too."

* * *

Rachel somehow found herself in a bathroom. She found her locker, but ended up lost on her way to her first hour class and the first few times she had stopped to try and decipher the map she was given she had been bumped into multiple times, so, she ducked into the bathroom so she could look at it without all of her things being knocked to the ground.

"Oh my god, what are you doing in here?" a shrill voice screeched and Rachel spun around, ready to defend herself, only to stop when she realized she wasn't the one being addressed, but a girl with frizzy, curly vibrant red hair and a smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose.

"What do you mean what am I doin' in here?" the girl had a thick, Irish accent.

" _I mean,"_ the other stressed out. "You're not a girl. You shouldn't be in here!"

Green clad shoulders stiffened. "I am too a girl! I have as much right to be in here as you do!"

"Just because you look like a girl right now doesn't mean you don't still have a di-"

"Okay," Rachel cut in, stepping forward and in between the two girls. "Hi, I'm Rachel! I'm new and I was wondering if one of you could possibly help me find my first hour class?"

"Ah," the red head shifted awkwardly. "Yeah, I can help you," she scooted a little closer to Rachel when the other girl scoffed and all but stomped out of the bathroom. "I'm Fanny, by the way."

"Rachel," she answered back, completely glossing over the fact she had already announced her name. "Anyway, I have Algebra with Mr. Simpson first," she showed her schedule and wrinkled her nose. "Oh man, that's gonna suck."

"What?"

"Having to do all that math first thing in the morning!" she snorted.

"Oh, yeah," Fanny chuckled. "If it makes you feel better, the homework is really easy. Since he only checks to see if you have it done and doesn't actually grade it," when Rachel quirked an eyebrow, she shrugged. "I have it first hour as well, come on, I have an empty desk next to me, you can sit there."

Rachel smiled brightly at her. "Thanks!"

"Oh," Fanny stopped them just before they reached the bathroom door. "A-about what Jenna said…"

Rachel waved her hand and nudged her out the door. "Hey, don't worry about it. I think I understood what she was trying to say and she has absolutely no reason to. After all, you're a girl right?" she winked and when Fanny's whole face lit up with a smile, she couldn't help but wonder if she just made a friend.

 _"Numbuh 362?"_

Rachel froze, her stomach twisting and she spun around. A girl with red cap stood in front of her, eyes wide in surprise. "Uhm, were you talking to me?" she questioned, her mouth dry, unsure of why she reacted the way she did.

"Oh, Abigail!" Fanny piped up and glared at the boy beside Abigail. " _Boy."_

"Nice to see you too, Fanny," he snorted.

"Sorry, Abby must've had you confused with someone else," she shrugged and held out her hand. "I'm Abby, this is Hoagie."

"Nice to meet you," Rachel shook her hand. "Both of you. I'm Rachel."

"Anyway, we need to get going so we're not late," Fanny interjected and tugged at Rachel's arm, pulling her along. "Mr. Simpson hates it when someone's late. No matter the excuse."

"We'll let you go, then."

"Wait," Abby grabbed Rachel's shoulder, stopping her from turning around. "Rachel- Numbuh 1 is coming back."

"What?"

"Abby knows that doesn't mean much to you anymore, but I had to say something," she explained, her hand falling from Rachel's shoulder. "You deserve to know." And she was walking the opposite direction, leaving a confused Rachel and Fanny in her wake.

"What was that about?"

"I- I don't know…"

* * *

 _End Chapter 1_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 is finally out! Sorry it wasn't out earlier, but I recently got a new computer so I re-wrote the chapter on the new one. But it's out! And I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 _Chapter 2_

* * *

Rachel clicked her tongue as she walked into her living room and dropped her bag by the door. "What are you watching?" she asked Harvey and plopped down on the couch beside him, her arm going to the arm of the couch.

"Don't scare me like that!" Harvey shouted and jumped, scooting away from his sister.

Rachel tried to ignore the hurt that settled in her stomach when she saw him move as far away from as he could. "Sorry," she apologized and faced the television again. "So," she dragged out the word. "Whatcha' watchin'?" she repeated the question.

"Disappeared," he answered, bringing his knees up to his chest and resting his chin on top of them.

Rachel's eyebrows raised. "The show on Investigation Discovery?" she asked and frowned. "Aren't you a little young to be watching a show like that?"

Harvey snorted. "After what happened, I think this is the perfect show for me," he started straight ahead. "And it just proves the Kids Next Door's point, adults are cruddy."

"Harvey," Rachel frowned and reached out, about to place her hand on his shoulder when he jerked away and jumped up, yelling not to touch him and then making the excuse that he had already seen the episode before and retreating to his room.

Rachel pulled her hand back and looked back at the television, the episode was about a little girl who went missing without a trace. Rachel sighed and grabbed the remote from where Harvey had discarded it and changed the channel, stopping on a cartoon of Rainbow Monkeys.

* * *

"Hi Rachel!" Fanny shouted and jogged over to her and her brother, whom she had brought out for ice cream as a silent apology for making him feel uncomfortable earlier. "Oh! Who's this boy?" she asked, looking down at Harvey.

Harvey's eyes widened. "N-Numbuh 86 s-sir!" Both girls looked down at him in confusion and Harvey flushed heavily, looking away. "Never mind. Neither of you _teenagers_ would know what I was talking about anyway," he scowled.

"Anyway," Rachel cut in. "This is my little brother, Harvey," he introduced.

"Oh!" Fanny grinned. "I'm here with my brothers as well!" she gestured to the smaller boys behind her. "This is Paddy and Shaunie," she introduced the red heads.

"Hi Numbuh 363," Paddy greeted, waving at Harvey.

"Numbuh 85," Harvey nodded.

"Again with the numbers?" Rachel's eyebrows raised and she shrugged. "Okay, then, Harvey, what do you want from the menu?

"Chocolate! A big one!"

"You got it!" Rachel winked and ordered the ice cream, getting a chocolate cone for herself as well, before turning back to Fanny and her brothers while the worker got the cone ready. "Wanna sit with us?" she offered.

"Sure, I suppose it wouldn't hurt."

Rachel nodded and gestures over to an empty table. "Harvey, why don't you go with them while I wait for the ice cream, okay?" Harvey nodded and left with Fanny and her brothers.

"No! _My sister_ was the best Kids Next Door operative when she was still commissioned!" Paddy shouted across the table at Harvey, who was scowling. Shaunie was happily eating his own ice cream and Fanny had her head buried in her hands.

"Oh! Good, you're back!" Fanny exclaimed when she lifted her head again. "Maybe you can do something about them! They won't stop arguing about their stupid game!" she glared at Paddy. "Which, I'll have you know, I don't remember _ever_ playing!"

Before either Rachel or Paddy got the chance to answer back, Harvey leaned forward. "No way! Your sister was just head of decommissioning! My sister was _Soopreme Leader_ ," he snapped. "She was coolest and got to know all kinds of top secret information!"

Rachel couldn't help it, though she had no idea what they were talking about, she felt a little swell of pride at her brother defending her. "Either way," Rachel cut in. "whatever you two are talking about seems to be in the past. How about focusing your future," she held out the cone to Harvey. "Especially if that future includes ice cream!" she grinned when Harvey cheered and dug into his ice cream.

"So," Rachel slid onto the bench beside Fanny. "Anything else interesting happen while I was gone?" she asked.

"As if," she snorted. "The most interesting thing to happen is them arguing," she jerked her thumb at the two boys who had occupied themselves by stuffing their faces.

"Must've been a joy," she snickered.

"Hi Fanny!" a new voice cut in and both girls turned to see a Japanese girl strolling over to them, one hand in the air, waving, and the other held on tightly to the hand of a slightly shorter, blond male. "Hi Rachel!"

"Uhm," Rachel shifted. "Hi?" she recognized the girl from her science class, but she didn't know her name. She only remembered her because of her rainbow colored Pride bracelet that circled her wrist. She had heard of the horror stories of small towns and their hatred for anything different, and after the encounter in the bathroom, she had been surprised to see someone wearing such a thing, as she had her own wide array of Pride merchandise in her bedroom.

"Can we sit?" she asked politely, but didn't wait for answer and sat on the bench next to Harvey, who instantly scooted away. "I'm Kuki," she introduced herself. "And this is my boyfriend, Wally," she giggled and nudged the grumbling blond next to her.

"Nice to meet you," Rachel greeted politely, and then added, "I like your bracelet, where'd you get it?"

Kuki's eyes lit up. "Thanks! I made it myself," she held her wrist out, showing off the bracelet. "Oh!" she gushed. "I could make you one, if you want! As a welcome present!" she offered.

"Sure!"

 _"_ _Ugh,"_ Harvey groaned, his mouth covered in chocolate. "Rainbows are _way_ too girly!"

Kuki shot a glare at him. "And what's so wrong about being a girl?" she had a warning in her voice, daring him to answer with something she wouldn't be pleased to hear.

Harvey mumbled something under his breath before clearing his throat and speaking a little louder, "Nothing, nothing is wrong with being a girl."

Kuki's face became bright again. "Good! Glad you think so," she began humming.

* * *

Rachel jumped back as her locker door was slammed shut and she turned to glare at the boy next to her. "Excuse me," she snapped and shuffled her binder into one arm so she could re-open her locker. "That was rude."

"But it got your attention," the red headed boy smirked and leaned against the locker. "I don't usually go around slamming girl's lockers," he offered up and Rachel jerked the locker door open, blocking him from view.

"So does that mean you go around slamming everyone else's lockers?" Rachel asked and finished getting out her text book. "Or is it just the new kids?" she shut the locker on her own and turned around, ready to walk away.

"Usually just the new kids," he answered confidentially and fell into step beside her. "You're Rachel, right?" he asked. "I think I have you in my U.S. History class," he explained.

Rachel nodded slowly. "You do, you're Grant Hunt, right?"

"How could you ever have guessed?"

"Oh I don't, maybe the amount of times the teacher yelled at you?" she snorted.

"Hey, it's not my fault he can't take a joke."

"Uh-huh," Rachel hummed. "Now, was there a point in almost making me late for class or….?" She trailed off, letting him answer the question.

"Actually," he folded his arms across his chest. "I figured since you're new, you probably don't have too many friends yet, but the teens around here are pretty close, ya know? So I figured you could come hang out with us."

Rachel bobbed her head. "Okay, maybe?" she offered up as she stopped by the door of her classroom. "I mean, I guess I'm always up for meeting new people," she frowned and nodded. "Sure, as long as you don't go slamming my locker anymore."

"Deal!" Grant gave her a toothy grin. "My boyfriend has lunch with you, he'll give you the details of our next meet up!" he began walking backwards and waved. "See ya!"

Rachel gave own, hesitant wave in return. "Right, see ya," she took a deep breath and turned to the classroom, unsure how she was going to deal with a supposedly huge group of people at once.

* * *

"Rachel McKenzie?" a boy with brown hair and a camera around his neck slid into a seat next to Rachel. "Hi, I'm Jamie," he held his hand out to Rachel, who shook it. "Grant mentioned me to you? I'm his boyfriend," he explained.

"Oh right, you have some information for me?"

"I do," he reached into his jacket pocket and handed her a slip of paper. "I don't actually know anything about these meetings," he flushed lightly. "The time is always set when I have to babysit, so I can't go. Grant says they're fun," he paused an added. "I dunno if you should trust his idea of fun, though," he warned.

Rachel snorted lightly. "Yeah, I think I got that from his antics in class."

Jaime laughed, ready to reply, but was cut off by Abby sitting down at the table. "Hi, Abby," he greeted instead.

"Jaime," Abby nodded and adjusted her cap, turning to Rachel. "If you ever need a babysitter, you should go to Jaime, he's the best this town has got," she told her.

Rachel grinned at the red boy. "I'll keep that in mind," she unfolded the piece of paper to read the details of the meet up.

"What's that?"

"Just something Grant Hunt gave me, he invited me to join some of his friends to hang out," she explained, putting a reminder on her cell phone and not noticing the frown that creased Abby's face.

* * *

 _End Chapter 2_


End file.
